Definitely must get more creative. Even with the front four, more stunts etc. I know Irvin got a couple of sacks stunting up the middle (actually thought he was more effective on these stunts than just trying to speed rush the tackle).

Back in the Chuck Knox/Tom Catlin defense, the seahawks often had 3 down linemen with 8 DB's or 6 DB's & 2 LB's. They often brought 4-5 and sometimes 6-7-8 defenders at the QB. You never knew who was coming from where.

My only question on the final two plays vs. ATL is if they were going to bring pressure, why did they not bring it through the A gaps right in Ryan's face?

I've coached HS for over 20 years, so I try not to second guess, but I have to wonder.

I only watched Florida once last year, but was impressed with how they got different guys into the backfield pretty consistently. I wish I would have know there was a chance of Quinn coming back. I would have watched closer.

He won't be able to "dial it up" nearly as often as he could in Florida, but he will certainly know how to bring heat from different areas. I think those who feel that Pete does his own thing and won't let his coordinators do their own thing need do nothing more than watch last season's offense. I think Pete and Bevell and Cable sat down and discussed the benchmarks that had to be hit before rolling out new things, but you also saw an offense that was significantly different than the previous year, and Pete seemed very happy with how the games were called, as evidenced by the extension given to Bevell and Pete consistently going to Cable to see what was up during games.

I expect that kind of impact from Quinn on the defense that Cable brought to the OL, run game and offense in general. Dan's a quality coach and he had the DL of 2010 playing very well before the injuries hit them half way through the season. He has admitted growing as a defensive coach in his two years at Florida so the Hawks aren't just getting a great coach back they are getting an even better coach than before.

Last edited by Seafan on Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I'm In!

What attracted you to the Seahawks? “It’s a combination of what I believe the coaches are doing here, the atmosphere and what I think we’re going to do here in the future. I think we’re going to win and win a lot and be a championship team.” – Zac Miller, August 4, 2011

I don't think our blitzes lack creativity, to me it seems the execution is the problem. Maybe youth, team not familiar with each other, inexperience in that situation in a game this big, I don't know, but the blitz packages were getting there but tiny mistakes led to it's downfall. For instance, that first play Ryan found that WR Douglas after Seattle had taken the lead. Inexplicably, Marcus Trufant left Douglas to break on Gonzales underneath. Granted a completion there isn't good but they were on the 26 and Gonzales catching in the middle with the time winding down would of at least burned a timeout as opposed to Douglas getting more yardage and getting out of bounds. (WTF) On the play we had a good blitz pressure package and this small mistake gives up way too much ground at that crucial moment in the game.

They should rush 10 and drop Red Bryant back into coverage. That would be pretty creative.

I've always liked this idea of a 'creative blitz' as opposed to an 'uncreative blitz.' It seems to me like the 'creativity' of the blitz is not nearly as important as the disguising of the blitz. At their core, you're essentially taking extra defenders and drawing a straight line between them and the quarterback, and saying 'go get 'em.' Yeah, sometimes you'll shoot different gaps, sometimes you'll drop a DE back into coverage, etc.... but with the Seahawks, it just seems like there's either a) a lack of calling blitzes in general and relying too heavily on front-4 pressure or b) it seems fairly obvious when linebackers are blitzing.

Catlin wasn't a guy who blitzed just to blitz. He was a guy that brought consistent pressure because it caused the offense to make mistakes. He was a creative coach, while many would say he was "vanilla" just like Chuck. He was smart enough to move guys around and find where they were most effective. For example, his use of the undersized Rufus Porter as a pressuring down lineman was brilliant. Then he also saw that Terry Wooden was struggling to keep up with guys as a LBer, but was good at generating pressure and had a hard time keeping his weight down. So Tom had him just bulk up and used him as a down lineman and he did fairly well (better than he was at LBer and prevented him from being a total bust).

Catlin was the kind of guy that Cable is. He was very smart. Very low key. Never talked about himself or did the shameless self promoting of say a Buddy Ryan, even though Catlin's defenses were every bit as good (sans 1985, but that may have been the best defense ever).

I think if Quinn wants to be really successful at bringing pressure without hanging guys out to dry he need look no further than the Catlin era highlight reels.

Yeah, I thought I was mixing names up. Tony Woods indeed it was. Tony was a guy that just wasn't living up to the hype, and Tom brought him along. Now you see guys given up on immediately it seems. Catlin was wise in that he was able to move guys around, and as you said... make changes in formations to suit his personnel. He was a great coach and a great guy.

I think Quinn has some of that Catlin-esque coaching technique in him. He's not a big talker who is yelling at the players and the refs. Like Cable... low key on the sidelines, very cerebral (which people would think Cable would be the opposite of since he has a "fiery" reputation). Cable is as cool as a cucumber on the sidelines. Catlin was too. Then you had Rusty Tillman who was a madman running around (sort of like Pete). It is good to have different personalities that can connect with different players. I think Quinn always really connected well to the DL, and it was obvious from how they performed.

I think Richard and the DB's do well, and Norton and the LBer's do well. I think we have a lot of DC quality coaches on the defensive side of the ball. I think that will be big this year.

One thing players always said about Catlin was that he was extremely thoughtful. He'd think through everything and come up with gameplans that were brilliant. He could pick tendencies out that others didn't see. I think the combo of Pete, Quinn, Richard, Norton, and everybody else on the side of the ball is going to be great. Gus was a big loss. He'll be missed for sure, but sometimes it's good to have a coach who is more reserved and plays the "thinking man" role. I've seen Quinn get fired up, but I've also seen him come up with some very brilliant decisions in his last stint here.

I taught a couple of kids and their mom's brother was Quinn's assistant with the Hawks a couple of years ago (Mike Phair). She'd come in and volunteer a couple of times a week and would talk about her brother and the other coaches, and she could not say enough about how kind and loyal and intelligent Dan Quinn was along with the other defensive coaches. I was almost hoping Wash was following Bradley so Quinn could bring Phair back, just because it gave me a straight scoop on the team whenever I talked to them. But overall Quinn is a guy that listens always to those around him and listens to the players, but is respected enough that when he makes a decision and says "this is the way it is going to be" then the guys go out and do it.

I think we're going to be a-ok in the coaching dept. Let's just see where Dan dials up the pressure. I can almost guarantee we're going to see alot less "safe" play and a lot more attacking early in the season.